Dec
26
Everyday 's a school day
Today is mine and Dan's last day in Vietnam. Dan is currently wrapping up the steads in Mickey Buble wrap and Anthony is sorting out his 'admin'.I have packed up my Ortlieb's (the unbelievably annoying bags we have karted around) for the last time on this trip and I'm feeling very strange. Very emotional, absolutely shattered, slightly mental and still in disbelief that we have all made it from Hanoi to Saigon with only 4 punctures and one minor seeping wound.
We have all talked about our favourite moments, what we've learned, what were the hardest bits and I'm sure we'll be remembering situations - good and bad, scenery, people and playlists for months to come.
Some of the things that will stick in my mind and that lessons I've learned include:
The age old adage of the more you put in the more you get out. Obvious but it applied to everything we did. The more effort we made with people and the language, the more responsive they were and the more fun we had with them. The more effort you put into cycling the more energy it gave you and the more enjoyable the ride was. The more we took in the scenery, the more it stuck in our minds and the more beautiful things we noticed. The more you look after your bike the better it runs. Dan's bike is named Bubble Boy on account of how much he messes with it, it runs like a dream. Mine is called Veronica on account of it being a bit of a dirty mess. It is in desperate need or some love and attention from a mechanic.
I need new fillings.
Anthony eats at an ALARMING rate!?
Vietnamese people aren't big fans of health and safety or the highway code.
NEVER order a pork dish when it mentions the word 'steamed' or 'broth'. It is literally sweat soup with boiled feet.
Vietnam has an absolutely history and culture of which the American war and Paul Gadd is only a tiny blip.
Saigon is one of my favourite cities and they go mental at xmas.
Put your mind to anything and you can achieve it. Again obvious but I really wasn't sure we, or rather I would complete the whole trip. Turns out, if you want to prove something to yourself and others you can do anything.
Ca Phe Sow Daa is long iced milk coffee with ice. Ca Phe Now Daa is the coffee with the little pots you have to wait for. Only took 3 weeks to work that out.
All female dogs in Vietnam have really saggy t*ts, 'Titty Dogs'. Sorry for the swears but they need a mention!!!
Vietnamese people love a fiddle.
The list could go on and on. So i'll end by saying goodbye to Vietnam and a huge thankyou to Anthony and Dan for helping me, making me laugh hysterically at all manner of rubbish and generally being amazing throughout the last 3 weeks.
I hope we helped make Jennifer, Steve, Monika and Big Ken smile. I hope the money we raised helps other families and I hope the 3 pounds of weight (seriously?!?!?) I have lost doesn't come back on ten fold when I get back to Blighty.
Lots of love and Merry Christmas to all.
Danielle aka Granny Grunt, aka Ghandi, aka Crazy Legs Crane.
Dec
23
Avoiding the unavoidable. (Part 1)
Part 1 of 2 (see Part 2 below...)Today's diary is brought to you with somewhat of a heavy, but happy heart.
On the 5th of December we pushed of on this debacle with some very clean bikes, very clean maps, very clean faces and very clean minds.
20-something days later I am sat in another of what seems and endless trail of hotels, some mediocre, some incredible and the odd one or two vomit inducing with all of the above seemingly 200 hundred years ago from our humble and clean beginnings, exhausted and scorched, hungry and fragile, but with a smile on my face that you don't get unless you have really worked for something this valuable
It would be nigh on impossible to plot the graph as to how I have ended up in this strange glass room (minus air-con) next to the mildly irritating bleeps and whirs of the person next to me who is playing some very odd online 'dancing' game that appears popular over here - my train of thought is getting halted every few moments by the exultation from the said cyber-Wayne sleep, so this could be a tad fragmented....anyway...where was I...
There is a veritable catalogue of hilarious comments from all participants, a personal highlight of which came out of Danielle's oversized mush after a ride through the previously described horror show of the Da Nang development plots.
Hundreds of billboards looked over us as we cycled the coastal path through Da Nang, one of which being a huge picture of the Australian golf legend Greg Norman, and the proclamation that he was opening a new golf course there very soon.
At the next rest stop, during our usual routine of consuming every liquid within a square mile Danielle blurts out, 'That was so strange riding through there, even Norman Lamont is opening a golf course' (Norman Lamont being the UK's ex-chancellor of the exchequer - and possibly the most unlikely man to ever be asked to create a golf course)
The next 15 minutes were spent howling at the gaff, and imagining a Norman Lamont crazy golf course, where the final hole you had to chip over a huge pair of rising and falling eyebrows.
I think the final retort from my female companion was 'Well, I knew it had a Norman in it...'
Google Mr Lamont, you'll see what I mean.
Today we rode from Ho Cok Beach through to Vung Tau. Yesterday was a very long and miserable day - as usual it was hotter than can be described (especially as most of you are into 6 days of snow) and the ride was coming of the back of our last off day, and getting back onto the steeds has proved very difficult after the rest days. These factors couple with another punishing 135 kilometer ride meant we were at breaking point, but the wheels keep turning and the legs keep going.
I wish i could say that it was Lucas or my family driving us on, but the truth is it's not entirely, yes they are never too far away when you are rooting around inside your head for something to focus on, but often its nothing more than the prospect of a comfy bed that gets you over the finish line.
Trouble is our finish line sometimes felt so far away and knowing that tomorrow, you were getting up to do it all again was one of the hardest things I have personally faced. When you arrive its almost like your brain took over half way and peddled a few 10s of kilometers as well, and when you are finally dismounting at the chosen place to hang your pannier bags there quite often isn't a single thought left inside your empty skull other than 'Feed me and lie me down'.
Dec
23
Avoiding the unavoidable (Part 2)
PART 2 of 2We got a lucky break today, none of our maps showed it, but they have built a bridge connecting Vung Tau and Lang Hai which lobbed of about 40km from the ride...taking it to a pathetic 80 or so. this means we have had plenty of time to kick back today and contemplate tomorrow. No one has really spoken of tomorrow for a few days, its the elephant in the room.
The inevitability of its arrival was obvious, but just how much it hurts to be kicking off one last start, a belly full of eggs and bread (+ Pancakes if you are Dan Ziglam), seeking the road out of town and waving at the droves of disbelieving kids on their way to school as the incredible 11 foot blonde women cycles past, is going to be something i think that only Danielle, Dan and myself will have to share. We have come an insanely long way together on many different accounts.... so as it is, tomorrow we set off for Saigon, the finishing line to end them all, the cyclical version of chipping through the eyebrows on 18th at the Norman Lamont Golf Course
Bring your hankies tomorrow, we will have ours. (mainly because we are burning Dan's cycling shorts...they need cremating, and we will need to cover our eyes with something as we watch them burn)
Ant xx
Dec
21
The breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper of champions
Well not far to go now now and most probably the last diary entry from me before we hit Saigon.Only 300k and three cycling days left and i still cant actually believe we are nearly at our goal. I think it will be an emotional last ride for all of us as we enter Saigon.
The last three days of cycling has took us through some spectacular and punishing county. We have hit various mountain passes, Arid desert like terrain and a gruelling 50k ride through Vietnam's equivalent of the Sahara! It was well worth the pain as we earned ourselves a rest day on the beautiful peninsula of Munie, Bagging ourselves a little bungalow on the beach surrounded be coconut tree's and the south china sea lapping on the shore, absolute paradise!
The rest days are also a good opportunity to put back on some of the calories we are burning up and after realising i've nearly lost a stone i have been on a mission, At the best of times i can but away the scan but after cycling over 1300k i feel like a man possessed.
Over the past 24 hours in no particular order i have consumed the following
1 omelet with cheese or butter!
2 french sticks
1 banana pancake with honey
a packet of chocolate Oreo biscuits
a tube of pringles
various refreshing soft beverages
a plate of egg fried rice
steamed squid with ginger and spring onion
2 bottles of beer Saigon
a miscellaneous chocolate bar
a large portion of lasagna
1 plate of Chips
a basket of Bread
another omelette's with cheese or butter
2 more french sticks
2 more pancakes
a few more beer Saigon's
and roughly about 6 pina colada's
My aim was to eat 5 pancakes during my stay in Munie, as I'm already on four i feel the target highly achievable. surprising i am still hungry and looking forward to a final feast before we get back on the road, tonight i am trying to consume four diffiffernt types of carbohydrates in one dish!
Well that's me over an out. I just wanted to wish everyone back home a very very merry Christmas and big big thanks to everyone who donated to the cause helping us reach our grand target.
Lots of love
Mr Dan Ziglam x
Dec
20
TOP 5 FAVOURITES....
Boy oh boy...it is HOT! luckily the internet cafe me and danielle are in has one fan on the wall and is pumping out a miniscule draft, the power of a butterflyfarting.
sorry for the slight delay in your next installment, but we hit an internet blackhole for a few days, where we were lucky to have running water, let alone any form of internet.
anyway, to make up for that me and dan are writing a double diary...
please refrain from kissing the screen i know you will be excited.
in a slightly different twist on my usual ramblings, here is a selection of top 5s !
TOP 5 FAVOURITE THINGS SQUASHED AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
1) CENSORED (email me and i'll tell you - but it's not for the squeamish)
2) A Duck in a plastic bag
3) Cats/Dogs
4) An unidentifiable Lizard (large)
5) Rats....big rats...hundreds of them
TOP 5 FAVOURITE THINGS THAT THE NATIVES CARRY ON THE BACK OF THEIR MOPEDS
1) Wife and 3 kids, of varying sizes
2) A Wardrobe
3) A 42' Widscreen TV
4) 4 ducks in a basket, a gigantic bag of potatoes, a huge tub of oil and some petrol
5) 25ft metal poles. (4 of)
TOP 5 FAVOURITE THINGS PEOPLE HAVE SAID TO US
1) Be Careful, you'll get killed on that road
2) Excuse me, you very big (shouted at danielle as we rode past a woman)
3) Can i have some more towels in my room please? Oh sorry i thought you were vietnamese and worked here (said to me in a hotel)
4) Here's You Mojito
5) Yes Mi Khey beach is that way (many miles in the blistering sun later, we had been going the wrong way)
bye for now.
Dec
20
Tommy Top Off
Since the last entry we have cycled some 450 kms or there abouts. The terrain has changed quite dramatically from the North and Central straights as we head further south. The paddy fields have dried up and turned into desert-like stretches framed by boulder spattered mountains. The sun is at times unbearable, getting up to 34-35 degrees but we have the pay off of some amazing beaches! It would take forever to write about everything we’ve seen but here are some highs and lows…On the way to Quy Nhon, where I think Dan last posted, we have seen some amazing things. One particular group favourite took place at a truck stop... We’d stopped for the regular liquid nitrate that is Noh Daa (super strong iced coffee) when a bus pulled up, nothing unusual until…. One of the Jackies from the bus was handed a hose and opened the luggage compartment to uncover a whole herd of pigs squealing and generally going crackers. They opened fire on the pigs and hosed them down, presumably as a treat to cool them down, queue mass pig hysteria. One opportunist pig saw it’s chance and made a dart for it, in a vain attempt to grasp back it’s freedom. Once on the open road however it wasn’t sure what to do with it’s new found freedom and it wasn’t long until a group of locals had cornered it and thrown it back into the make shift pen that was the luggage compartment. We all sat, mouths open, watching the dramz unfold and proceeded to roll about laughing as the bus pulled away.
The road from Quy Nhon to Nha Trang was a coastal treat with some punishing mountains. However the going down more than made up for the torture. Dan’s highest down speed got up to 65 kms per hour, maybe I shouldn’t put this in so as not to scare the mammies?!
We had a day off in Nha Trang where we had our first proper beach day, drank beer in the middle of the day and watched HBO. Niiice!
From Nha Trang we moved onto Ca Na. It was supposed to be a 155km ride but due to a sneaky short cut and the wind behind us we managed to do it in record time. Ca Na is really beautiful, small cove. It sounds idyllic and the beach + sunset was, the accommodation however was not. It was the beach hut equivalent of the toilet in Trainspotting. Needless to say we got up at 4.30 and got the hell out of there.
Something else disturbing happened on this stretch of road, I asked Anthony to document it on his flip camera, he must have thought it too atrocious to commit to film as he refused to give me the camera when I explained what I wanted to film. I however, feel the need to share it, so as to get the image out of my head. Anthony has taken to wearing Paul Calfe-esque vests, this has lead to a sort of bad builders tan - dark tanned arms/neck and super white body. To remedy this he has taken it upon himself to ride topless. This might not sound bad to you the reader, but when you are cycling with a semi-naked, ram-man (see He-Man) who’s sweat has mixed with suntan lotion and who is “rapping” along to his ipod it becomes hugely disturbing. I keep expecting hugely offended villages to start chasing us with sticks a la the Simpsons episode when they chase the snakes out of Springfield with burning torches. Now we are at Muine, where we have a day off, hopefully his tanning will be done in an acceptable fashion (on the beach) and our eyes and the eyes of Viet-villages we have yet to meet will be saved from further abuse.
Dec
14
..always fiddlin'...
Finally got round to my first diary entry…Better late than never!Well what a trip so far. Vietnam is an amazing, intense and crazy place unlike anything I have ever experienced. Seeing the country on a bike has been a real life challenging journey.
It all started back in Hanoi and those tentative first steps with the bikes onto the Vietnamese street’s, It all seems like a life time ago, now we cycle like the locals, which basically means like maniac’s, jumping red lights and having a blatant disregard for all road signs, amazingly it all seems to work, I can only describe it like shoal’s of fish, thousands of bodies all moving in unison letting the energy take you along.
So far we have rode over 700k, We have pedaled our little hearts out and rode through the lot, green luscious mountains, endless paddy fields, over rivers, up mountains, into dustbowl towns, , jungle, communist villages, busy highways and past coastline, you name it and we have cycled it. I particular enjoy riding in the early morning just as the sun is coming up, a hazy mysterious mist fills the air and as you look across the paddy field’s you can just make out the workers with their buffalo toiling away.
It has been a real physical challenge but well worth the pain. We have all been to the edge and back and back again and again! Some moment the miles do not seems to go down other times the beautiful countryside and views takes your breath away and you feel you could ride forever.
We have met some fantastic and friendly people along the way and been served up a whole manner of tasty and interesting cuisine. In one of the more rural towns the chickens brain, anus, liver and intestine was one of my particular favorites. We are like a bunch of pack animals when it comes to eating on the ride decimating anything put in front of us.
A particular highlight whilst eating on a floating restaurant were the most delicate rice pancakes stuffed with white fish , bean sprouts and a lime dipping sauce, The entertainment came half way through the second coarse when the local officials decide to moor their boat up and jump through the restaurant window next to our table, only in Vietnam!
Over the last two days we have rode over 240k so we could earn a day off the steeds, staying in a nice hotel in a city called Qui Non right on the beach, lots of food rest and relaxation by the pool.
Anyway enough of my humid sweaty rambling must go and fiddle!
Dan (not Danielle, nor Anthony for that matter)
Dec
11
Re-hydrate, Recuperate and Rejuvenate
wotchya Lucas fans.Right then, Dan has talked you through the pleasure/pain of this demented adventure, now I’ll give you some Vietnam musings.
Incredible place, vastly different mile after mile, lush green vistas get replaced by never-ending flat fields, next moment deep blue ocean and so on...
The past couple of days we have ridden through the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone) In many ways it has alot of the slightly morbid attraction that this country offers and in others it is desperately desolate. It’s difficult not to cast your mind back and ponder what this country was only 40 years ago, ravaged by war and succinctly divided by conflicting ideals. Vast areas of the DMZ were flattened by the warfare, and more namely Project Orange - The US razing of huge acres with their napalm bombing campaign.
It's difficult to imagine just quite what such a weapon can inflict but it's much easier to guess when you see the sheer scale of the missing lands, and riding through them as we have done gives you no better viewpoint to put it into perspective.
In some way, i thought that coming to Vietnam was to step into one of the many films that depict this nation, truth is, it is an entirely different place.
The North is still steeped in its communist beliefs, while as we venture further down south, the communism seems to gradually get less intense and the tourist dollar is king.
Vast quantities of the land just outside of Da Nang has been 'acquired' by large US corporations, who are only doing what they know best, that is to expand and build gigantic ugly 'faux' Vietnamese themed hotel complexes, so that tourists can be shipped in, pampered, then shipped out feeling accomplished in their worldly globe trotting.
Not saying there isn’t a place for it, but its frustrating as you travel 10 minutes down the road and see the poverty that exists, here’s hoping that any money that pours in makes it’s way into the hands of the people who need it.
Right enough of that, I guess many people are wondering about the traffic (by many I mean my mam), well at first glance, it is simply madness to even try, rules are non-existent, and even the traffic lights look weary and forlorn as they obediently change colour, simply going through the motions because not one single road user pays them the slightest bit of attention. Once you have watched it for a while though, it becomes clear it works....the traffic ebbs and flows like a river you simply move into the current that you wish to travel with then meander along. Wits are kept about you, and turning right is worthy of a gold medal if completed but there is never one traffic jam...anywhere....ever.
Today is our day off, we are in Hoi An and boy did we need some downtime. Yesterday we road 120kms in the baking sunshine, but what we saw I won't waste my time or yours trying to describe it. I'll leave it to the Video that I am making upon my return. Anyway, enough of my ranting (again!)...after all what do I know, I’m just a boy, on a bike, with his friends having the time of his life, showing his family how much he loves them. more photos being loaded up now, but the Yoghurt pot/String internet here is skull-cavingly slow.
Dec
9
The pleasure/pain principle
Today is day four on the journey and a certain pattern is emerging.Pleasure swiftly followed by pain.Going hard on mosquito bites gives intense relief for 10 magnificent seconds only to be followed by huge aching red welts. Sugar coated fries (true story) and two 'humbergers' feels like a party in the mouth but knocks you clean out into an almighty food coma. Cycling 70 miles a day through paddy fields and bizarre rural villages is breathtaking only to be followed by knees made of wood, a John Wayne-esque walk and no weight loss to speak of.
However i guess this pretty much sums up how life goes. Saying that nothing has been more at the fore front of our minds than Lucas and the rest of the Hannigan family. His short life encapsulated the pleasure/pain principle. Such a bundle of joy, who left us all too soon.
We have took him on a great journey so far, he swam in the perfumed river, met crazy Viet locals, went to his first beach, he is currently performing as the angel in the Sunrise hotel nativity play, played football with some kids in god knows where and made up part of a shrine in Dong Hoi.
Life is short and sometimes heartbreaking but with good friends and family around you it can be an absolute hoot!
Anyhoo, it's 19.36 and bed time. Hope all is good at home and everyone is enjoying the drizzle. LOSERS!!
Danielle, Gadd's Apprentice and Mr Motivator.xxxxx
Dec
5
the light sufferage of fools...
Day One Things have changed. Its official. Please accept this as your confirmation. 10 years ago, me and various geordie reprobates made our merry way to Thailand after grafting in mind bendingly hurrendous 'jobs' wearing an array of different coloured ill-fitting double breasted suits, cobbling together enough cash to come out to the mystical country that we had been promised held some magic that we couldn't imagine. Of course we were harldy captain cook and his crew discovering new lands, uncharted to date, and all under the gaze of disbeliving natives....but still the country felt like another planet, and going there was a huge mind broadening experience.As i write this, I am sat on a schedule flight, surrounded my drunken half wits intent on drinking the plane dry ('...it's free and i am getting my money's worth..!') twillight years middle england couples...but then again, the 'hippies' i sat amongst on the last flight irritated me as well, so maybe the problem is me, maybe i dont want to share somewhere that changed my life so massively (but thats another story) The conclusion, i hope the unimaginably beautiful beaches that i remember aren't now a replica of the desolation that Europe has reeped upon San Antonia in Ibiza.
Prior to my above rant, I spent the morning doing my traditional laps of the Airport, while trying to quantify the magnitude of the task at hand, and wondering whether the 4 months of insane amounts of trainging were going to be enough...my cab driver on the way to Heathrow advised me that i am in need of mental health assesment. Lets hope he has got it entirely incorrect.
Fast Forward, 15 hours and by the grace of whoever my god is, so does my bike - in fully working order...the odd dent and some grazed panels but nothing to worry about.
Hanoi airport is confusing, made easier by David from Anglo Asia (the incredilbe company who have sponsored many aspects of this demented journey - and without who we would have been 10 times as stressed, and 10 times less safe throught) being there to announce 'you must be Anthony?' I think the gigantic bubble wrapped parcel i was carrying might have given it away. In life you meet many people, few make even the faintest impression, however David is overwhelming with his aimiability and kindess...we share an evening of mistaken food orders (I unknowingly ordered pig trotter soup - i understand the smug chuckle of the waiter now) and several Beer Hanoi's (don't tut...i have trained hard for this, i deserve a couple of beers...no?) eventually I get to my room about 11 and force myself to sleep (for the reader who doesnt know me, i have the capacity to sleep on a washing line, so i pased out immediatley)
It's strange breaking my training habits, because i woke up and my only thought was, 'did i wash my towel and shorts last night for the gym...?' Then i open an eye and my bike is there staring at me, with all the excitment of a labrador upon the return of his master in the evening...
David has organised a convoy to the airport, to pick up the others...then tomorrow, we start...
Nov
11
the clock is ticking...
well let's kick off with an apology...i realise that it has been quite some time since Dan's diary admission of lying on the sofa, gobbling maryland cookies like they were about to pass their sell by date....anyway....are you sitting comforatbly? then i'll begin.
Visa... check
Top of the range touring bike...check
Flights booked...check
Hours of bench pressing ford capris and fully grown elephants...check.
So here we are...3 weeks to go...
a year of planning, mountains of paperwork, days of begging for funds/donations and buckets of sweat training to be in anywhere near the physical shape to even contemplate something this ludicrous. to be honest it almost doesn't feel real?
saying that, it feel very real when me and Dan were bombing it along the A23 on our way to Brighton. (when i say 'bombing it' its not entirely accurate...there was a point when i think i saw a tree overtake Dan)
63 miles, in about 4 hours, when you minus the few pit stops in ghastly suburban Little Chefs and other such motorway amenities.
We were pretty proud i tell you.
I will add some of the photos to the Facebook group and on this website...marvel at our healthy glow, and then stare at Dan tucking in to a well deserved Brighton pier cardboard box of Fish n' Chips.
Sue(Dan's mam) if you are reading this...you should be immensely proud of your daughter.
Truth be known, i don't think i could even do half of this without her.
Ladies and Gentlemen, i am proud to unveil the latest addition to the LWH team... Mr Dan Ziglam.
he has passed his psycho analysis and been certified sane (despite our initial concerns). Dan, you are a god amongst men, thank you really doesn't cut it. (photo coming soon).
end of broadcast
tata...ant x
Sep
15
B.I.G day tomorrow
GreetingsTomorrow is a BIG day in the history of my cycling career. It is the day I pick up my very own Ridgeback Voyage touring bike!!!! A month ago I had no idea what the difference was between a steel or aluminum frame, what size bike I was apparently I’m man size, obviously?! or what the perineum muscle was and which seat would be best for it. I now know all of the above and have used this information to select my trusty steed for the trip that lies ahead. It is beautiful yet not too flashy, sturdy yet flexible and has the million gears needed to carry me up few mountains I’m told are along the trail.
I tried a few different bike shops in the beginning of my search, but didn’t have much luck. Some didn’t have the bike I wanted and couldn’t order it in, in time and others were basically patronizing berks. I finally found Cycle Surgery in Spitalfields who were lovely, helpful and didn’t just want my money.
They helped me order all the extra equipment for training and the eventual Vietnam ride, they even threw in a low cost bike maintenance course so I can fix any minor breakages or punctures. Major disasters will be fixed by the support team, aka Anthony.
So even though I’m going to look like a trainee bike courier with all the high vis get up I’ve bought, I’m really excited to start training in earnest on my new bike. All I need to do now is start cycling mega miles each week. This of course won’t be a problem as I’m a hugely fit, well oiled machine - I write this as I’m sat on the sofa, with an empty packet of cookies at my feet...
Sep
2
What in the blue blazes are you wearing?
Evening All, So thought I would share the following assassinations on my character with you. Recently I cycled to meet my friend for a coffee one morning before work, I had been in the gym, and as it now has become apparent, I was wrongly wearing a vest or wife beater to those from the streets albeit covered by a modesty preserving hoody. When I arrived my friend proceeded to immediately begin a verbal tirade of how ridiculous I look. My retort being that it was ‘comfortable to run/cycle in’, simply didn’t wash. Eventually I managed to steer the conversation from my chosen fitness costume of that day, onto the topic of what is actually appropriate attire for a gentlemen to wear in the gymnasium, we both agreed on a spandex unitard, but I would be very interested to know popular opinion. My second moment of humiliation came this morning when I was exposed as a music fraud. Those who know me, will understand the deepness of this cut. This unfortunate event went something like this… When I got into work flustered and somewhat red faced from cycling from the afore mentioned gymnasium and my iPod was rather blasting out. My colleague inquisitively questioned what they could hear coming out of the headphones, with all the smugness of TV’s very own ignoramus, Piers Morgan. I have recently discovered that listening to ‘that’ Trance ’99 album, that somehow sneaked onto my iPod, is most agreeable for cycling. When I came clean after a small period when I tried to tell this person that ‘shuffle’ had played this song and it was not my choice they immediately informed me that my future musical opinions or personal preferences in both a work and personal capacity will no longer be valid. Just thought I would share these little glimpses into the thanks I get for trying to raise a stack of cash for charity. Charming. Which brings me nicely back onto topic. Things moving along nicely as we approach £3000. Largely due to our latest franchise of the Lucas Was Here team, lifelong friend of my sister Jenny, Sarah Collingham and the team running the Great North Run – good luck gang and obviously a huge thank you from LWH teams across the globe! More blithering ramblings to come later.... see ya dafter….Ant xxAug
14
who knew that would happen?
Afternoon Lucas Fans,How's it going?
I come bearing great news, after launching last week we have raced to over £2000 in donations.....and there was me last week, imagining the odd 2 quids to come floating through! .
Firstly a massive thank you to anyone who has donated, collect 5 karma points and enjoy your weekend with the effervescent glow of the holy. If you haven't got your wallet our yet...tut tut...you know what to do.
Now for some even more exciting news! My possibly crazy colleagues, nay brothers/sisters from the Bangkok offices of Riverman Music Management, have decided that I am not allowed to have all the fun during the cycle, and have not only told me they are going to get some Thai Baht collected and thrown into the pot, but they are also going to be cycling part of the journey with me...needless to say it is an absolute pleasure to have them on board! I'll get a photo of them up next week.
that's enough for now...more news coming next week, and it's possibly even more exciting than these two little nuggets.
Love Ant
p.s we have a FACEBOOK group now as well…. search on LUCAS WAS HERE and join the party.
Aug
4
And so it starts…
First thing to say, is that today 4th August was Lucas' birthday. Happy Birthday doesn't really seem appropriate, but I guess it doesn't need saying that we are thinking about him.
Although we haven't cycled a single mile yet, the journey begins here. there are literally thousands of things to sort out, the check list is so long now that I might have to get a couple of hundred other people to follow me with my bags. (iPod chargers, spare trainers, ibuprofen..you know the essentials)
Training is going well - my work is 12 miles away from my house so currently battling 24 miles a day on the bike, that and 3 swims a week is starting to take affect, my weary legs are actually working under their own steam without me shouting at them.
I have had 6 punctures so far during my commute rides so plenty of tyre fixing practice coming my way. When rush hour London is rattling past at 50 miles an hour on Old Brompton Road, its difficult not to glue your face to a wheel or graze a shin flipping the trusty steed over to fix a hole that is almost impossible to find.remember when you used to do it at home with a bowl of water to find the bubbles? Well that's not really a luxury I can afford to carry. You starting to see the difficulties?
Ok that's enough for now, but I would just like to finish by thanking Jeff Green for their continued and incredible support. It is an absolute honour to have them involved and sponsoring this mad capped adventure.
Love Ant
